Rotary flour brush



March 24, 1953 F. A. ANETSBERGER 'ROTARY' s'LoUR BRUSH 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 13, 1951 @m aa iz F. A. AN ETSBE RGER March 24, 1953 ROTARY FLOUR BRUSH l3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. l5, 1951 March 24, 1953 F. A. ANETSBERGER 2,632,410

ROTARY FLOUR BRUSH Filed Aug. 13, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENToR. Fem/f QMSTSEEHGER Patented` Mar. 24, 1953 ROTARY FLOUR BRUSH Frank A. Anetsberger, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Anetsberger Brothers, Inc., Northbrook, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 13, 1951, Serial No. 241,517

7 Claims.

[This invention relates to rotary flour ,brushes tor use in ybakeries in conjunction Wi-th worktables of .the type provided with -endless conveyors which carry dough therealong to various stations Where Workmen or mechanical Idevices perform operations in succession such as rolling, -die cutting, crunching, etc. in forming dough pieces into bakery products ready for the oven. The conveyor receives the dough, usually in sheeted form, from a sheeting mechanism 1ocated at lone end of the conveyor. In the sheeting operation, ilour is applied to .the dough tc prevent it from adhering to the sheeting rollers or belts and as the d-ough issues from th-e sheeter onto the conveyor, it frequently has loose ilour thereon in excess of that desired on the nished dough pieces. Brushing the excess flour from the dough by hand has heretofore been practiced but such results in adding flour dust to lthe atmosphere, loss of ilour, and also requires the services of a bakers helper or other attendant. It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide motor-operated apparatus that will remove surplus our from dough as the latter moves in the form of continuous or interrupted sheets or pieces along a conveyor of a worktable and which Will collect the removed ilour in a suitable receptacle for re-use.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for rem-oving excess flour from dough moving on a. conveyor which comprises a rotary brush, means for receiving the il-our from the brush Iand conveying it to a receptacle and means for eiecting vertical adjustment of the brush and lassociated driving and driven mechanism .to working positions appropriate to the thickness of the dough .being treated or to an elevated inoperative position in instances where the brushing operation is not required.

A further object of the invention is -to provide improved means for intercepting and collecting the ilour projected from the dough by a rotatable brush extending transversely of .the moving dough and for continuously transporting the ilour so collected to a receiving receptacle.

Other objects of the invention relate to various features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be apparent from :a consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawings disclosing one form of apparatus that is illustrative of the present invention.

fin the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the improved apparatus disclosed as mounted transversely of the. conventional bakers worktable provided with an endless conveyor;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of ythe apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view o-f the apparatus looking to the right in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the apparatus looking to the left in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view'taken approximately on .the line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line `(a2-Ii of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 9 is a detached view showing a vertically adjustable mechanism carrying frame which is shown in skeletal form.

In the drawing, I0 indicates generally a casing of box-like form which is adapted to be positioned transversely of the upper run II of an endless conveyor supported .by a bakery worktable I2. In Fig. 1 the table is shown as being wider than the conveyor belt Il and provides space along the longitudinal edges for supporting the casing in position Itransversely of the conveyor. The conveyor is shown with fee-t I3 adapted to be `bolted or otherwise attached to the table. The casing I0 is open at the bottom and the longitudinal side walls are cut away at the lower edges .at I4 above the conveyor as indicated in Fig. 1.

A suitable mechanism supporting frame F is located within the casing and is adapted to support a rotary brush and flour pickup belt hereinafter described and to support also a motion translatin-g mechanism .by means of which .the .belt and the brush are driven by an electric motor I5 or other suitable power source. The frame refer-red to is shown in skeletal form in Fig. 9 and, as illustrated, comprises end walls I6 and I7 secured together in spaced apart relation by ties t8, three Ibeing shown. The ties I-8 in the form shown consist of tubular members through each of which a rod extends and which at its ends is attached to the end plates t6 and I1. In Fig. 8, th-e tubular Imember ref-erred to is indicated at I 8a while the rod is indicated 4by Ireference character I8b.

The facing surfaces of the plates IB and I 7 are provided with elevator nuts I9, two being provided on each -of the plates. As shown, the nuts are generally of inverted L-shaped form, the vertical portions of which are secured to the respective plates I6 and I1 While the horizont-al portions are provided with threaded vertical openings 20 for receiving threaded elevator turn, is secured to shafts by means of which the frame may be raised and lowered :as will be hereinafter described. The plates IS and I'I likewise are provided with vertical slots '2I extending upwardly from the lower edges of Ithe plate which accommodate a flour pickup belt, the runs of which are arranged vertical-ly and which belt exten-ds longitudinally of the casing Ill as will be described later.

Secured to the left hand plate IIS of the adjustable frame is a housing indicated generally by the numeral 22 and which is adapted to move with the frame as the latter is'adjusted vertically. Within the housing is journalled a horizontal shaft 23 one end of which extends from the housing and is provided with a belt pulley 2d driven by a belt 25 from the pulley 2b of the motor i5. The shaft 23 is provided with a worm 21 which meshes, with a horizontal worm gear, 28 secured to a vertical shaft 2t which extends downwardly tothe exterior of the housing 22 and carries a drive pulley 36 whichoperates the flour pickup belt 3i which is also trained around a pulley 32 adjacent the other end of 'the casing Ii) and is adjustable for the purpose o tensioning the belt as will be described later. The shaft 23 is providedwith ajsecond worm 33 which meshes with a Worm Ywheel 3d mounted on a short shaft 35 rj ournalled within vthe housing 22 and which constitutes Ythe drive shaft for a horizontally arranged brush indicated generally by the numeral 36. Rotation of the shaft `23 by the motor I5 through the driving mechanismjust described willI effect rotation of the drive pulley 3B ofthe flour pickup belt 3l and will elect also rotation ,of the shaft 35 which eifects rotation of the brush 36. The direction of drive of the pulley is asindicated by the arrow in Fig, S. In other words, the run of the belt adjacent the brush moves to the right as viewed in Fig. 8 while the brush rota-tes clockwise as viewed from the lefthand side in Fig. 8 which is in a direction to cause the bristles of the brush to throw loose flour from the dough passing therebeneath against the vertical run 3Ia of the belt SI.

The shaft 35at its right-hand end, as Aviewed in` Fig.y 5 is provided with a socket diametrically through which extends'a drive'pin 3? for drivingly engaging the bifurcated end or a brush supporting shaftBB, the other end of which shaft is supported in .a bearing 39 secured in an opening in theirame plate I7. The brush 3S comprises, in the form illustrated, a helical row of bristles d carried by a tubular shaft adapted to be slipped over the shaft 38 and secured thereto as by a set screw d2. The protruding right-hand end ofrthe shaft 38 is shown as being knurled for convenience in Aassembly and disassembly of the brush structure. An oil tube 39a extends vertically from the bearing 39 to the 'exterior of the casing Iii through which oil may be supplied tothe bearing.

Ihe pulley 32 around which the right-hand end'of the belt 3I passes, as shown in Fig.V 3, is mounted on a vertical shaft d3 (see Figs. 7 and 8) which shaft is supported by a pair of spaced sleeves 44 (see Fig. 7). The sleeves d4 Vare sec ured to a swingably mounted plate 45, the opposite edge of which plate is provided with a second pair of spaced sleeves d through which extends a'pintle 41 which also extends .into sleeves 48 which are secured to a bracket @9 which, in

the right-hand surface of plate I'I, as viewed in Figs. 5 and8. The plate 5 is thus swngable about the pintle 41 as an adapted to abut the frame plate II, As the screw 50 is turned in a direction to move inwardly, or to the left as viewed in Fig, 8, the hinge plate 45 Y will be swung clockwise about the axis of the p intle il for moving the pulley 32 to the right as viewed in said figure. Actually, the movement of the pulley will be in a slight are but the extent of adjustment requiredY for applying tension to the belt from time to, time is so small that the arcuate movement is niot objectionable.

Assuming that the brush 35'i's-flocatedat the proper elevation above Atheconveyor i I for brushing the Ysurface of a doughstripD shown thereon, the rotation of the-brush will sweep the loose flour upwardly from the surface of the dough strip and to the right as viewed 'in Fig. 6 orina direction the reverse of` the direction vof the-movement'of the dough. The hour 'strikes the-'forward run 3m of the belt 3] and tends to'clingthereto, the belt preferably being 'of canvas. Shouldsome of the hour not clingfto'th'e belt-it vdropsbackon the dough and will again bethrovvn ag n'stvthe belt, The belt being in operation,'thejfiou-r'clinging thereto will ,be conveyed transi'fe'rsfely of fthe dough strip to the right as viewed iin-Fig. B until it is removed from thebelt'by 'a lScraper blade 52 which is secured to the swingable'plavte 45 by screws 52a which pass through horizontally elongated openings in thefblade which enable'the plate to Vbe adjustedjlaterally intosuitablejicdntact with the belt. The purremoved 'from the belt by the scraper drops from th'ecasinygli'f-into any suitable receptacle 5s 'which may beremoved from timeto timefor emptying- For the purposetof varying-the elevationaippsition of the brush in accommodatingthesame gto dough strips of diiieren'tthicknesses, means'are jr'irovidecl` for raisingthe supportingfrarne E, including 'the plates iiiandiil, bvmear-,S Oft/high the operating mechanism within the casing 5ijijis Supported. The elevatinsmeansre fd tionensists of four 'vertical 1s l 1` ft s', ach, indicated generally by the numer'al andlocatededj cent the longitudinal Side lwallsof,the, ,casing Iii.: 'The shafts daresupportedi'n ms Aor lugs'ga secured t0 the Side Wallsof the? 'l 0 and atithe upper ends are provided with proclletwhee 55g The wheels SGarecO-planajra d around the same extends a sprocket chain '5'i"'whieh cpnstrainsall the vsprocket wheels 'andthe 35S.

iatedjshafts-.ll to operate in unison.' The IQWeifelldS'ofQih shafts 54 are,threadedly,receiyed'in Vthe threaded openings ,20of ythe elefv' r nutsfl. Rotation yof the shafts .54 ,inzonejdiilction Lor the othcrjwill eiect the raising or lowering 7of"tlleff.suppollllg frameji vtogether with the, jfp'ickup beltj "3l, the brush 36. and the 'motion translating .niech'a'nsm ofthe housing22. One-of fthe "afts, 5g catedy by the referencelcha'ratel .adjuand upwardly through'the top walLof thejcasinlg I0 andA isprovided with a hahd'fvvheel '5S ibyfrneans of which ,theshafts can'beoperatedforgeffecting ythe raisingor lowering o f 'the'brushanjdlassociated mechanism withinrthe casing Ill.` The lower edge of `the ourbelt isy at'anV47 elevation slightly higher than the lower periphery of the rotary brush whereby when the brush is in position for effective brushing action with respect to a dough sheet or dough pieces of a given thi-ckness, the lower edge of the belt will be spaced slightly above the level of the dough During the raising and lowering of the mechanism within the casing, the resulting vertical movement of the shaft 23 and of the adjusting screw 49 is accommodated by appropriate openings provided therefor in the respective walls of the casing l0. The motor I is shown pivotally supported by a horizontal shaft 59 mounted on the'adjacent end wall of the casing I0 whereby -the weight of the motor retains the drive belt 25 at appropriate tension. As the motor operates, it drives the shaft 23 which carries the worms 27 and 33, one being provided with right and the other being provided with left-hand threads whereby the run Sla of the belt 3| will be driven to the right as viewed in Fig. 8 while the brush 36 is rotated in a direction to brush the loose iiour on the top of the dough sheet against the run 3m of the belt whereby the excess flour is removed from the dough sheet as it moves beneath the brush. The elevating mechanism described enables the brush to be raised or lowered as may be found desirable depending onv the thickness of the dough and also enables the brush to be raised sufficiently to an inoperative position out of contact with the dough when a particular batch being run on the table requires no brushing for removing excess flour. Locate-d above the brush 36 is a sheet metal guard 60, the ends of which are secured to the plates I6 and I1 as by means of brackets 6I and tends to prevent the escape of flour from 4the casing during operation of the brush.

While I have shown and described apparatus that is illustrative of my improvements, it will be apparent that various changes in details may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention denn-ed by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for removing loose flour from the surface of dough moving on a conveyor comprising a rotary brush adapted for disposition transversely of the conveyor at an elevation above the same for contact with the upper surface of dough on the conveyor, means for rotating the brush at a velocity for projecting our from the dough in a direction rearwardly with respect to the direction of movement of the dough and upwardly from the dough, and an operable endless belt extending transversely of the conveyor above the dough with the runs thereof arranged vertically and against one of which runs the brush projects the flour for transportation by the belt to one side of the conveyor.

2. Apparatus for removing loose our from the surface of dough moving on a conveyor comprising -a rotary brush adapted for disposition transversely of the conveyor at an elevation above the same for contact with the upper surface of dough on the conveyor, means for rotating the .brush :at a velocity for projecting flour from the dough in a direction rearwardly with respect to the direction of movement of the dough and upwardly from the dough, an operable endless belt extending transversely of the conveyor above the dough with the runs thereof arranged vertically and against one of which runs the brush projects the flour for transportation by the belt to one side of the conveyor, and means at one side of the conveyor for removing the our from the belt. l

3. Apparatus for removing loose flour from the surface of dough moving on a conveyor comprising a rotary brush adapted for disposition transversely of the conveyor at an elevation above the same for contact with the upper surface of dough on the conveyor, means for rotating the brush at a velocity for projecting flour from the dough in a direction rearwardly with respect to the direction of movement of the dough and. upwardly from the dough, an 4operable endless belt extending transversely of the conveyor above the dough with the runs thereof arranged vertically and against one of which runs the vbrush projects the flour for transportation by the belt to .one side of the conveyor, kand a scraper engaging the Ibelt at a position laterally of the conveyor for removing the flour from the belt.

4. Apparatus for removing loose our from the surface of dough moving on an endless conveyor comprising a casing dispos-ed transversely of the conveyor and beneath which the conveyor moves, a vertically movable support within the casing, a rotatable brush carried by the support transversely of the conveyor, an endless belt carried by the support and having vertical runs disposed transversely of the conveyor rearwardly of the lbrush with respect to the direction of movement of the conveyor and with the lower edges thereof located above the level o-f the lower periphery of the brush, power operated driving mechanism for operating the belt transversely of the conveyor and for rotating the brush in a direction for projecting flour from the dough against the adjacent run of the belt, and means for adjusting said support vertically for adjusting the brush and belt concurrently into operative positions with respect to the surface of the dough on the conveyor.

5. In apparatus for removing loose flour from the surface of dough moving along a conveyor, a rotary brush disposed transversely of the conveyor at an elevation for brushing contact with the dough for projecting the flour upwardly and rearwardly with respect to the direction of movement of the dough, an endless Ibelt extending transversely of the conveyor at the rear of the brush and above the dough and having the runs thereof disposed vertically, one run of said lbelt being located suiciently close to the brush for intercepting the flour projected by the brush and conveying the flour to one side of the conveyor, a vertically adjustable support for the brush and belt, means for adjusting said support vertically for accommodating the brush to dough of diiferent thicknesses, and motor operated power transmission mechanism for Ithe ,belt and brush carried by said support.

6. In apparatus for removing loose flour from the surface of dough on a moving conveyor cornprising a casing provided with end, side, and top walls and open at the bottom and adapted to be positioned transversely of the dough conveyor, a vertically adjustable supporting frame within the vcasing and comprising spaced apart end plates, means for eifecting vertical adjustment of the frame within the casing, a horizontally disposed rotary brush carried by the support within the casing adapted to extend transversely of the conveyor in brushing contact with the dough thereon and operable at a velocity for projecting loose our rearwardly and upwardly from the moving dough, an endless belt carried by the support rearwardly of the brush with the .runs othereof, r-disposedlvertically y and :extending brush andv belt, and vmanuallyooperable,means for effecting verticat adjustmentv of said Vend plates in-unison for. raising and lowering 1said brush and belt inaccommodating the .samel-to dough of different thicknesses.l onthe. conveyor.

'7.4 Apparatus for 'removing loose flour from the surface ofdough movingonaonveyor comprising a casingopen at the bottom and adapted to be located-transversely. over.: a dough. conmayor,l a vertically adjustable.` framey within.- said casing comprising a-pair of spaced apart Lend plates, ya horizontal rotary brush located between said plates forsbrushing contact at the. lower.V peripherythereof withdough on the conveyor,A driven mechanismlcarried 'byu one of. said end plates for rotating vsaid brushira direction forprojecting upwardlyand rearwardly loose our vfrom the dough movingbeneath the brush, said-mechanism comprising agbeltpulley. on a driven ver- 8 tical..axi s,- .Sidfiend .plates being-z pyovidedlvgith passagesY located rearwardly of tho brush @ed aligned withv Said Adoive pulley, on. endless horizontal belt extending through said passa-ges and having the runs disposed in Vertical planes` and against one of which runs said .brush isV adapted toA project loose flour toro-transportation-laterallywof the conveyor` .through the passage the other of said plates, an adjustable, bracket mounted ori-Said lost mentioned Plata o Sooondrullo? foroho bolt oorrioo by sold. broolotmoons; for adjusting the K Jrafrzket` for tensioning the belt, and means for adjusting-.said framefvertically for varying-tho olovotionof thofbrushorlrd bolt 'for accommodating the to; orolit bhokfmesses: of dough von thea @cmi/.oro,1?-f

ANETSBERQER.

REFEBENCESCHED:

The following rreferences are 4ofre'cord in the le ot. this patent: l

UNITED ,STATES PATENTS 

